


A Warrior's Eyes

by MysteriousSunshine



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Blind Astrid, F/M, Friendship, Hiccstrid Ship, RTTE Blindsided, cannon-divergent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-03-17 09:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18962071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysteriousSunshine/pseuds/MysteriousSunshine
Summary: "They don't call me Barnab the Brain for nothing, my boy. This old mind has seen and done a lot of things, and I happen to know of the Isle of fles. It is a place where mystical things come to light. And for the worthy who traverse its terrain, they will have the one desire of their hart."Despite her best efforts, Gothi couldn't cure Astrid's blindness. Three months later, she is adjusting to not being able to see. She's a strong fighter, and her love life with the adorkable dragon boy of her dreams is almost as perfect as she could have imagined. But one night, a note from a mysterious man by the name of Barnab the Brain sets Astrid on the journey of her life. Will she prove herself worthy of gaining all she's lost, or will she lose herself forever?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my very first HTTYD multi-chapter Fic! You can expect to get weekly updates to this story every Saturday.

A deep squawk resonated from the fierce Deadly Nadder, signaling Astrid, who was perched on her back, to grip tightly in preparation for a nose dive. Right next to Astrid's head was a pure white dragon twice the size of a large bat. It squealed one high, keening sound as they rushed towards the heavily armored ship below.

"Blast it, Stormfly!" Astrid shouted. A blaze of hot magnesium fire streamed from the dragon's mouth. Astrid could hear the screams of sailors and their splashes as they dove overboard. But it seemed that not all of the ship had been destroyed before arrows and boluses came speeding towards them. Astrid heard their tell-tell whoosh.

"Excuse me, Snotman to the rescue!" Snotlout shouted as hookfang zoomed by, knocking the projectiles off of their course. Astrid gritted her teeth, but there was no time for her to be as prideful as she normally was.

"We good, Flutterby?" she called to the little white dragon, reaching out a hand to pet its nose. It nuzzled her fingers before stiffening and giving two short screeches. Astrid withdrew her hand and hefted her ax. She heard a dragon approaching and she swung her ax in a wide ark. It made a satisfying clang as it connected with another weapon.

“You’re quite fiery for a lass,” a gruff voice chuckled. Astrid’s face contorted in rage as she twisted her wrist to try and disarm her opponent. He came at her with a pary that sent a painful jolt up her arm. Wincing, she through herself higher onto Stormfly’s neck, putting all the weight and power she possessed behind her ax. A shield, probably metal from the sound of it, met her thrust with such force that Astrid nearly toppled off of Stormfly as the ax came ramming back at her, handle-first. She quickly reoriented herself, listening closely for Flutterby’s screeches. Once she was more securely positioned, she raised her ax for another blow.

"On your left," Hiccup called, diving past on Toothless and seeming to overtake the dragon Hunter. "Plasma blast, Bud!" The hunter, who didn't appear to be all that great at aerial combat, lost his seat and a few moments later his screams were lost in the din of his splashes and the ships going up in flames.

"I had it covered, Hiccup," Astrid called in irritation before steering Stormfly away, Flutterby torpedoing in front of her.

* * *

After the last hunter ship was dispatched, the group landed on the shores of Dragon's Edge. They collectively slid off of their dragons, stretching their aching muscles. It had been a long battle and they were all glad they had added another victory to their belts.

"Well done, gang," Hiccup said, looking around at all of the drained faces. "we've definitely put a dent in their plans for now." Ruffnut and Tuffnut banged their helmeted heads together in celebration.

"Hiccup, they're getting stronger," Fishlegs said. "And they don't really know how to ride their dragons now, but once they learn, they'll be pretty powerful."

"That's why we need to free those dragons before they can learn anything," Hiccup said firmly. "They may be getting stronger, but so are we. Now, go rest up, you all deserve it."

The group dispersed and once Astrid heard the fading of Ruffnut's and Tuffnut's argument over who was cooking dinner, she walked over to where Hiccup was and socked him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" He said, and Astrid could hear him rubbing at the sore spot. "how do you manage to still have perfect aim?"

"That's for trying to save me like I'm some kind of damsel in distress," she said. Then, she opened her arms, and once she felt Hiccup enter them, she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was gentle, and she lingered for a moment before pulling away.

"And that's for everything else, you noble idiot." Hiccup sighed happily before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tighter to him.

"How are you doing, Astrid. I know it's been three months but-"

"I'm fine, Hiccup. I'm adapting well, you don't need to worry so much, it causes gray hairs. And just because I can't see, doesn't mean I want my boyfriend to have gray hairs." she said. Hiccup chuckled before tightening his arms.

"Well, I'm glad to have your vote of confidence when I'm old," Hiccup scoffed. "But maybe you should take it easy in our raids. You were about to battle-ax that guy like you could see him."

"Hiccup, I'm still a strong warrior," Astrid said emphatically. "I can take care of myself. I don't need anyone saving me, got that?"

"I don't doubt you're strong. And you, Stormfly, and Flutterby make a great team. I'm just saying, be careful, ok?"

"When am I not?" Astrid asked before wincing. "Don't answer that." She stepped away, and reached into her thigh holster. She pulled out a collapsible metal cane that Hiccup had made for her. "Stormfly, Flutterby, time for some chow," she called before disappearing with the two dragons hot on her heels.

* * *

Hiccup stood looking out to sea long after Astrid had left. Toothless stood next to him, nudging him every few minutes, but he was deep in thought. It had been three months since Astrid had woken up to her world changing forever; three months since Hiccup had looked into those twin sapphires and they were looking back at him. Of course he didn't care that she couldn't see him. What he said to her that day was true; they would make it through this together, and no matter what there would always be a Hiccup and Astrid. But he couldn't understand how she was ok, and not just a surface ok, because he knew how that was. He had lost his left leg, and he had put up a convincing front about not being upset about it. It took him at least a year to be as ok as Astrid was in a matter of two weeks. He had watched her smile bravely at the other riders the day Gothi's cures didn't work. He saw her gingerly walk away, trip on a loose board and collapse. He helped her to her feet and held her as she was overcome with sobs. He sat with her and gestured silently for the others to walk around them and ignore the spectacle in the middle of the pathway. He held her without saying a word, just rocking her back and forth as the sun set and rose again. And as morning crept across the sky, she lifted her head, swiped her hand across her sightless eyes, and closed up. Hiccup saw a part of her die that very moment and she stood to her feet and insisted on learning how to walk around on her own.

Hiccup sighed as Toothless nudged him again, more forcefully this time.

"I'm sorry, Bud. I just got a lot on my mind, that's all," Hiccup said. Then, he stopped and a smile slowly crept across his face as he remembered the night after Astrid had cried in his arms. She had managed to learn how to get to her hut, the stables, and the clubhouse, and she had the bruises and cuts to prove it. She literally ran into Hiccup as she was practicing her routes and he was finishing up the training with the Tripple Strike.

* * *

"Whoah, Astrid," he said, catching her before they both tumbled. Astrid froze, and Hiccup could see her turning pink.

"Sorry," she mumbled, adjusting herself. 

"Oh, you know it’s okay," Hiccup said.

"Hey, hiccup? Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure," he said, feeling a seed of nervousness sprouting.

"Um, back in the forest when we were-well, you know,"

"Yeah?" he said, definitely feeling the blooms of panic setting in.

"Were you about to?"

"Oh, you-you felt that, huh? I thought maybe I'd gotten away with it."

"Well," she pressed "Why didn't you?"

"Oh, oh well," Hiccup began, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I-it wasn't perfect. And I always thought that if it ever happened-uh and yes, I've thought about it a lot, that it had to be just perfect."

"I guess this isn't really your idea of perfect, is it?" Astrid said with a sad little smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Hiccup looked at her, at the rays of the setting sun shining in her golden braid and the way her lips curved so softly. He looked at those fidgeting hands that were the deadliest things he’d ever laid eyes on but were so gentle when they were holding his hands or patting Stormfly and Flutterby. He looked into those blue sapphires that were just as beautiful as they were before. He leaned forward and took her in his arms.

"There's nothing that could be more perfect than this," and he pressed his lips to hers and pulled her tighter against his chest as her arms snaked around him and she kissed back.

* * *

An irritated roar broke Hiccup out of his thoughts again and he saw Toothless batting at a brown Terror who was annoyingly fluttering around\\\ the Night Fury's head. Attached to its leg was a roll of what looked like parchment.

"Whatcha got there little guy?" Hiccup asked, reaching up to untie the roll. As the little dragon flew towards the other end of the island, Hiccup unrolled the letter and froze at the two short sentences scrawled in a hasty hand.

_She can be cured, but you have to trust me. Meet me at half past midnight on the morrow._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next installment of AWE. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to drop a comment.

It was early in the morning, so early that Astrid couldn't even feel the first rays of the sun warm her skin yet. She was reclining comfortably on Stormfly, swooping and twirling through the clouds with abandon. Flutterby and Stormfly were currently chasing each other through the skies, each one doing impressive evasive maneuvers that made Astrid laugh in exhilaration.

They had started out this morning with strategic battle practice, but Astrid was tired of working. That had surprised her. Normally, she was a stickler for honing her battle skills to fine-tuned precision, but today she had just wanted to spiral through the clouds like nothing mattered. Up here she felt as free as she possibly could. It had been that way even before the accident, but now it was even more so. As long as she didn't think about the beautiful views, she was okay. Without the colors of the lights and the shapes of the landscape to distract her, she could pay attention to the way the cool, thin air moved through her lungs. She could smell the clouds; they smelled like fresh rain water, and they felt like the surface of the ocean on a breezy day. And when her and the dragons weren't filling the air with laughter and squawks/screeches, the wind seemed to whisper some secret song that only few were privileged to know.

“It’s just so beautiful up here, isn’t it, ladies?” Astrid asked, stretching her arms out to either side of her. The dragons made noises of ascent as Stormfly made a tight turn and flew out over the ocean. Flutterby followed with an indignant squeal.

Astrid thought, for the thousandth time since Berk had made peace with the dragons, about what it must feel like to constantly see the world from the sky. She had a little bit of that knowledge; she flew Stormfly every opportunity she got, which granted, was almost every second of the day most days, but it was different from being a creature who could fly under the power of their own wings.

When the sun began to make an appearance, Astrid directed the dragon duo back to her hut.

"Good morning, Milady." Hiccup said as they landed. To Astrid's relief, he didn't try to do something ridiculous like help her down from Stormfly's saddle. She slid gracefully to the ground and walked over to the sound of his voice.

"Good morning. A beautiful day for a flight."

"Yeah, I was just heading over to grab Toothless. He's probably getting antsy," he said, leaning forward to press his lips to hers.

"So, what brings you here before your flight?" Astrid asked suspiciously after they had broken apart. She could always tell that something was on his mind. Hiccup was a horrible actor.

"I just wanted to see my girlfriend, is that too much to ask?"

Another thing Hiccup wasn't good at: lying. Astrid put her hands on her hips and cocked her head in disbelief.

"Okay, okay," he said and Astrid knew he had raised his hands in the universal surrender gesture. "We received some terror mail last night."

"What is it, another trap? Something from Johan? Is Berk in danger?" Astrid asked, stepping closer to Stormfly and preparing to climb on.

"No," Hiccup said hurriedly. "Everything on that front is quiet, at least to my knowledge. No, this letter was about-well it was about you."

"About me? What do you mean, about me?" Astrid asked. She heard Hiccup rustle a piece of paper and he cleared his throat nervously.

"She can be cured, but you have to trust me. Meet me at half past midnight on the morrow.” Astrid felt her stomach drop uncomfortably.

"Who do you think sent it?" she asked, working hard to keep her voice steady.

"I don't know. There's not even a hint of who could have sent this. No signature and I don't recognize the handwriting."

"They could be lying, it could be a trap." Astrid said forcefully, but she was more trying to convince herself.

"I know," Hiccup said in agreement. He took Astrid's hands in his own. "But what if it's not?" Astrid kept her face neutral. She couldn't afford to even let that spark of hope enter her mind. It had taken her so long to get to the point where she stopped wishing for her sight to come back. Despite the brave front she showed for everyone, even Hiccup, it had taken her a month and a half to stop crying herself to sleep at night over never being able to see the stars, Stormfly's electric blue scales, or Hiccup's crooked little grin ever again.

"I can't, Hiccup," she said, a slight tremor entering her voice. "I can't think about that." Hiccup squeezed her hands with a sigh and let go.

“Ok," he said kindly. "I'll see you at breakfast." With that, he was off towards the stables.

Astrid opened her door, and collapsed onto her bed, tears filling her eyes. It hurt too much to think about. How many times had she wished for a cure? But it had to be a lie. She tried to stem the flow of tears, but they didn't seem to want to stop.

* * *

Late that night, Hiccup crept quietly to the beach. He knew that there was almost no possible way that Astrid could notice him, but sometimes that girl surprised him and it was scary. Her instincts coupled with her agility, weapons' work and honed auditory skills had made her just as alert as anyone with perfect vision. But Hiccup was willing to risk her wrath. What harm could it do if she didn't know? If it was a trap, Hiccup could get some good intel for their dragon-saving missions. And if by some Thor-given miracle it wasn't, well Astrid should at least have a choice. At least, that's what Hiccup kept telling himself.

"Ah, you're early," a deep, hoarse voice came. Hiccup jumped and turned. There stood a tall man cloaked in black cloth from head to toe. He held a spiraled torch in one hand and a short, silver dagger that reflected the torches light into splashes of color in the other.

"Who are you?" Hiccup asked, drawing inferno from a scabbard on his left leg. He was wishing he had brought Toothless along, but he was sure the perceptive dragon would have been giving him shaming looks all throughout the night. At any rate it would only take a call for his trusty, scaly friend to come running.

"There'll be no need for that, my boy," the voice said. He dropped his dagger in the dirt and Hiccup reluctantly rested the point of Inferno downwards.

"You said there's a cure," Hiccup said, getting straight to the point. "Are you just yanking our chains, cause we don't take kindly to that around here."

"No, of course not. But, where are my manners. How can you trust a man you don't know the name of? I am Barnab the Brain. And you are?"

"I'm sure you already know," Hiccup countered. "Now, let's talk about why you're really here."

"The young Berk heir is quite impatient. Pity, pity, that'll be something you'll need to adjust, my boy." he said. Hiccup scowled at him. "But I will keep you guessing no longer." The figure sat on the ground and Hiccup moved closer, dragging Inferno behind him. He sat in front of Barnab the Brain, laying the sword across his lap.

"I have heard the story of your warrior's maiden and her plight from a trader in my village's markets. Quite the chatty fellow." Hiccup groaned inwardly at Johan's big mouth.

"And you felt compelled to help somehow?" he asked incredulously.

"They don't call me Barnab the Brain for nothing, my boy. This old mind has seen and done a lot of things, and I happen to know of the Isle of fles. It is a place where mystical things come to light. And for the worthy who traverse its terrain, they will have the one desire of their hart."

"And by chance are you going to let me in on the secret of what makes someone worthy of this heart's desire?" Hiccup asked, not daring to hope.

"The seeker must have a warrior's spirit. They must have the physical, mental, and moral stamina to obtain that which they most seek."

"Astrid is blind," Hiccup said slowly. "By the gods I'm not doubting her skill, but she couldn't make a trip like this on her own."

"Of course not, my boy. That is why her friends are permitted to come along."

"Why should I trust you; why should any of us trust you?" Hiccup demanded with a sudden intensity. "Let me see your face."

"I cannot show my face, my boy."

"And how do you expect me to trust a stranger who refuses to let me look at him?"

"Because this plan is the only hope of your friend seeing ever again." He pulled a small, cloth-bound book from his cloak and handed it to Hiccup. "This is all you will need to find and traverse the island. Hiccup was incredulous.

"And you're just doing this out of the kindness of your heart? What do you want in return, Barnab?"

"Oh my boy, do not worry over such things. Your success will be the only reward I need," he said simply. Then he stood and Hiccup stood too. The man walked towards the dock and boarded his tiny boat that was tied down. He swiftly untied it and began rowing in a smooth, uninterrupted rhythm.

"Good luck to you and your friends, my boy. Remember, she must be worthy," he called softly in the night. Hiccup stood and watched as the boat faded into the darkness of the late hour. He fumbled with the book in his hands before the snap of a branch made him turn around and freeze at the figure standing still with her hands on her hips. Hiccup gulped. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another installment of the story is up! Enjoy :)  
> **Decided to make some changes to this chapter to flesh out the characters a bit**

The next morning Astrid wasn't talking to Hiccup, and the other riders could sense something was wrong.

"Astrid, are you feeling ok?" Fishlegs asked hesitantly at breakfast as she silently chewed her mutton.

"Why yes, I am, Fishlegs," she said with a forced politeness. "Why wouldn't I be?" "Um, well you just don't really seem ok. You seem kind of mad."

"No, not at all. I have nothing to be mad about. There's definitely not someone trying to control my life and what I choose to do with it, so there's no reason for me to be mad."

"Astrid," Hiccup sighed, but she ignored him.

“I’m going to do some training." She hopped from her seat, whipped out her cane and left the clubhouse in three seconds flat.

"What did you do?" Snotlout asked a brooding Hiccup who was frowning pensively into his fish stew. "Usually she reserves that level of anger for me."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Tuffnut said, waving around a leg of mutton for emphasis.

"What hadst thou donith to our beloved Astrid?" Ruffnut cried.

"I did something last night that made her really upset with me," Hiccup confessed.

"Oh Hiccup, you should have known by now she was going to be disappointed with you. I mean, you have that one-legged thing going and, well you know how that goes for the bedroom stuff," Ruffnut said consolingly.

"Ruff what in Thor's name are you- Oh gods no! That's not-we didn't-uhhh!" he said in frustration, slamming his hand on the table. "I got some intel the night before last about a cure for Astrid's blindness."

"What?" Fishlegs exclaimed "Why would she be angry at that?"

"Well, I told her about it, and she figured it was a trap. I definitely knew that was a strong possibility. She said she didn't want to try; that she couldn't handle being disappointed. Well, I snuck out last night to meet whoever sent the intel. I figured if it was a trap, I could spring it before the trappers knew what hit them and if..."

"And if it was true, Astrid could know," Fishlegs finished. Hiccup nodded miserably.

"She's furious at me because I went behind her back, but I'm not sorry about that. If there's a chance she could regain her sight, I want to do everything in my power to make sure it can happen for her."

"Then tell her that," Snotlout said. "Stop avoiding her, and tell her. Anyways, she'll probably miss when she tries to swing the ax, so what do you have to lose?" The entire table threw bits of bread at Snotlout for his Snotlout-like insensitivity.

Hiccup decided to go ahead and take the advice, while vowing to never tell Snotlout that he did so, and went to find Astrid after breakfast. She was at the training arena hacking at training dummies left and right. Snotlout was wrong that she would miss with her ax; no level of blindness would ever keep that ax from hitting its mark. Stormfly and Flutterby were watching her practice with intense eyes. Flutterby was especially protective of Astrid. Hiccup had ensured she would be when picking a spotter dragon for her. She was a very loyal little creature who was mischievous and hard working. It was a bonus that her and Stormfly got along so well. When the two dragons saw Hiccup approaching, they squawked in welcome. Astrid turned at the sound.

"I know it's you, Hiccup. What do you want now? Come to save me from this ax? Did you consult an ax master behind my back to fix my form?" she asked bitterly as she whirled to rip apart another practice dummy.

"Astrid, I don't understand why you're so angry at me," Hiccup said honestly. Astrid stopped mid-swing and turned to face him again. Her eyes, a bit cloudier than they were when she could see, but still able to blaze brightly with blue fire, bore angrily into him.

"Hmm let's see. You disregarded my wishes. You went behind my back and did something I expressly said I didn't want done."

"I was just trying to help, Astrid. If there was any chance at all that it was real, I wanted you to have that."

"And did you ever consider for a moment that it wasn't something that I wanted?" she shouted. "It took me so long to come to terms with my blindness, Hiccup. You don't think I prayed to all the gods every night that I'd get my sight back? Don't you think I wished and hoped and wept for something like this?" Astrid's voice lowered, her anger leaving her like a dying storm.

"Maybe this is that chance," Hiccup said, stepping close to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I lost my leg. I'm ok with that now, I have been for a long time, but I'd want to try everything in my power if I had the slightest chance that I could get it back."

"I'M not you. I don't have the mind of a dreamer, a creator. You could bounce back if it just turned out to be another bitter disappointment." she hissed. Astrid lifted her axe again and began another round of target practice. All Hiccup could do was stand there with his thoughts. At the time, his decision had seemed to be the right thing to do, but as he watched the anger pour off of Astrid in waves, that certainty waned swiftly. When he really stopped and took the time to consider how Astrid was feeling, he could kind of understand where she was coming from. Afterall, she was a warrior who was geared more towards practical aspects of reality, and if this did turn out to be some elaborate trap, she would have gotten her hopes up only for them to be ruthlessly crushed like they were the first time, and no matter how tough Astrid was, not even she could survive another brutal disappointment like that completely unscathed. And he wasn't sure he'd be able to survive that either. He felt extremely guilty for what he had put her through. It had been selfish of him.

"I'm so sorry, Astrid,” Hiccup said. Astrid chopped another dummy’s head off before bringing her axe to her side. She did not turn around, and her motionless posture was the only indicator that she was listening. "You're right. I shouldn't have gone behind your back. I just want you to be happy. I care about you so much, and sometimes that clouds my judgement.”

“I know that,” Astrid said. She gave a gusty sigh and finally turned around. “I’m not happy about what you did, but I forgive you for it. I know you were just trying to help.” Hiccup smiled and walked closer to her wrapping her in his arms.

“You are amazing and I don’t deserve you.” Astrid smirked and leaned forward to press her lips to his.

“You’re amazing in your own way, even if you screw up a majority of the time,” she teased when their lips parted. Hiccup snorted.

“Thanks for summing that up, Milady.” They settled into a comfortable silence as they heard the hustle and bustle of the Edge start up around them.

“So, when are we heading out?” Astrid asked casually, beginning to separate a section of Hiccup’s hair for braiding.

“Hmm, what are you talking about?”

“For the Isle of Fles, knucklehead. When are we leaving?”

“But I thought…”

“Even though you went about it the wrong way, you might be right. This mission to the island could be worth our while. It could also be dangerous and a trap, but when has that stopped us?” Astrid waited with bated breath. She had come to this decision the night before. That’s why she had been at the docks. She was going to meet with the man herself, but when she had realized Hiccup was already their despite their earlier conversation she had been beyond livid.

“Whenever you’re ready, Milady,” Hiccup said. Astrid smiled and pressed against his chest. She took a deep breath to steady her resolve.

“Let’s do it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this chapter is so late. I started wprking at a summer camp and I have limited time to write. I'm going to try my best to stick to my every Saturday update time, but I can't make any promises. More often than not I will update every other Saturday.  
> With that out of the way, I present to you Chapter 4 of A Warrior's Eyes.

After dinner, all of the riders sat in the clubhouse as Hiccup flipped through the cloth-bound book that Barnab the Brain had left him. After his conversation with Astrid, they had hurried to fill in the rest of the group about the specifics of Barnab’s information. 

"What does it say!? What does it say!?" Fishlegs asked excitedly as Hiccup scanned the pages carefully. The twins, who had grown bored an hour ago, had started playing Tic Tac Yack while Snotlout was kissing himself in the reflection of his short sword.

"Hang on, Fishlegs," Hiccup said, trying to hold on to the last shreds of patience he possessed. "There's a lot of stuff in here. Mostly maps from what I can tell." Fishlegs leaned over Hiccup's shoulder to look.

Meanwhile, Astrid was leaning back in an armchair facing the fire. She was bored out of her mind. Normally, she would be right at Hiccup's side, tracing every word with her eyes that he had traced with his. Then, they would see something at almost the same moment and give each other the look that carried a thousand messages. But now she was stuck relying on other people to feed her the information, and it made her feel less like a part of the team. She tried not to think about how if the plan worked, she wouldn't have to go through this anymore; it was a dangerous thought. She made it an active goal of hers not to get too hopeful about the mission.

"I've never seen these maps before," Hiccup said in awe, interrupting Astrid's train of thought. "Nothing looks familiar."

"Wait, Hiccup. Flip back to that page, I think I saw something," Fishlegs said suddenly. Astrid sat impatiently, running her hands along the handle of her axe.

“Fishlegs! Nice catch! It looks like a riddle," Hiccup breathed. "everyone, listen up!" The activity around the clubhouse ceased and they all turned expectantly towards Hiccup and Fishlegs.

> "If the Isle of Fles is what you seek,  
> your heart and soul shall not be meek.  
> Both South and West this island lies;  
> where magic dwells and the living dies.  
> These maps and clues will help you when  
> you see through the eye of a dragon.  
> A part these maps may look unknown,  
> but together a familiar picture is shown.  
> A warrior's heart and mind and eyes  
> will bring you to your needed prize."

When hiccup had finished reading the page he looked up into the faces of his fellow riders. They all looked at him intently.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I'm pretty sure I heard "where the living dies," Tuff said. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't sound too good."

"Yeah, and what’s this about magic?" Ruff chimed in. "It seem suspect to me."

"Guys, we've seen mystical things like this before," Hiccup reminded everyone.

"Yeah, and they were usually traps," Snotlout grumbled. Meanwhile, Fishlegs had pulled out the Dragon Eye from the small bookshelf in the corner of the clubhouse and was examining it.

"What you pull that out for?” Tuffnut asked.

"It said that we could only reach our prize if we looked through a dragon's eyes."

"You don't think they know about the Dragon Eye, do you?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, but the wording seems too specific for it not to be at least a possibility.

"Because it's a Traaaaap," Snotlout sang.

"Not necessarily. It is possible that the Dragon Eye and book were created by the same person," Fishlegs explained.

"Even though it says dragon's eyes, it could mean a number of things. Like maybe..." Hiccup stopped as a realization hit him. "Oh Thor, I think that's it! Fishlegs, you're a genius!" Hiccup hurried to find a compass, parchment and a pencil.

"Um, Hiccup? You wanna stop for a moment and explain things to the rest of us who don't live inside your head?" Astrid asked, slightly irritated but mostly teasing.

"Dragons fly."

"Ooh, what a shocker," Snotlout snorted.

"No, Snotlout. I mean dragons fly. They see things from an Aerial perspective. And the Dragon Eye maps are drawn from a frontal perspective.

"So if we take the Dragon eye maps, something that's very familiar, and draw them from an Aerial perspective, we'll be able to see where the Isle of Fles is," Fishlegs finished.

"Why would Barnab give us this book unless he knew we had the Dragon Eye?" Astrid pointed out. "And if he does know, what's to say that this isn't an elaborate scheme to get us to leave our island undefended?"

we knew this could be a trap from the start. It could also be that this book provides riddles on how to find the Dragon Eye to solve the maps, we're just ahead of the game because we already have it. If it is a trap though, we're already a step ahead and we can take steps to protect ourselves," Hiccup reassured. "For now, Fishlegs and I will start drawing these maps in the proper scale."

“Oh Thor, this is about to get boring,” Snotlout whined with a yawn. He stood to his feet. “While the geeks figure out their map thingy, I’m going to get some beauty sleep.” With that, Snotlout was out the door, the twins following behind.

“I can run and grab the copies of the Dragon Eye maps and Meatlug; that way we have two copies to reference," Fishlegs offered. Hiccup gave him a nod.

“Astrid, you should get some rest. This’ll probably take all night,” Hiccup said in the silence that followed Fishlegs' retreat.

“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just say that to me,” Astrid said in annoyance. Hiccup sighed.

“I’m not saying your unqualified or unhelpful or anything like that, but this is visual work, and you won’t get much out of listening to Fishlegs and me scratching away and talking about map lines. That’s something you weren’t too interested in to begin with,” Hiccup explained. Astrid was firm, remaining stubbornly seated. Her pride warred with Hiccup's sound logic. for a few moments before her resolve cracked and she stood slowly, reaching to holster her axe and pull out her cane.

“Fine, but the second you figure something out, I want to be the first to know,” she huffed. Hiccup nodded and then remembered that she couldn’t see the motion.

“Deal,” he said firmly. Astrid made her way over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Her blonde hair, which she had taken out of its customary braid to give her something to do, fell around her shoulders and brushed against Hiccup’s cheek. He turned to press his lips against hers.

“Goodnight,” she said, running her finger along his jaw and lips. HICCUP's lips parted in a smile.

“Goodnight, Milady. Don’t worry. We will figure this out and everything will go back to normal.” Astrid wanted to shrug it off; she wanted to remain firm in her earlier convictions about not getting too hopeful about this plan. At the very least, she wanted to come up with a flippant remark, but Hiccup was so sincere that her heart fluttered. In that moment, she was almost convinced that his words would hold true. So all she could do was nod, give him one more tender kiss, and walk out of the door.

* * *

Later that night, Astrid awoke to frantic knocking on her hut door. Stormfly and Flutterby, who had decided to refuse to sleep in the stables that night, squawked in annoyance as they rose to attention.

“Astrid, open up!” Hiccup yelled breathlessly. Astrid flung the blankets onto the floor and stumbled over to the door, nearly tripping over an indignant Flutterby. She was so keyed up that she didn't remember to throw on something to cover her sleeping clothes. Normally she hated people seeing her so vulnerable, but her heart was thumping to insistently for that to even cross her mind. After muttering a quick apology to the ruffled dragon she threw open the door and Hiccup, who was mid-knock, stopped in awe. Astrid’s hair, which was sticking up in every direction, was nearly silver in the slight moonlight peeking through the clouds and tree cover. She was dressed in a short, thin blue night gown that hugged her tightly. She wore a pair of white shorts that stopped mid-thigh. This was a different side of Astrid that Hiccup had never seen, and he liked it.

“Hiccup, earth to Hiccup!" Astrid called, reaching out and shaking his shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Oh. Oh, right, sorry. Fishlegs and I- We figured it out. We know where the Isle of Fles is and we know how to get there.”

Astrid’s stomach dropped. Sure, she had known that Hiccup and Fishlegs would figure it out. They were both stubborn as Monstrous Nightmares and wouldn’t rest until they solved the puzzle, but she hadn’t expected them to figure it out so soon.

“That’s great,” she finally said.

“The book has other riddles too,” Hiccup continued. “They have to be solved once we reach the Isle of Fles, kind of like that treasure map for Hiccups, but we’ll worry about that later.”

“Do you think it’ll actually lead to something other than a trap?" Astrid asked, trying to clamp down hard on the hope creeping up on her.

"It's definitely a high possibility that this could be the real thing."

“Then I’m ready to leave when you are.”

“We’ll leave in three-day’s time. I’m going to send word to Berk to have some A-team riders come and cover this place.”

“I think it might be a good idea to consult with Gothi about the Isle of Fles,” Astrid said thoughtfully.

“Why is that?”

“She might know something about it. It’s worth a try and we need all the information we can get.”

“Alright then,” Hiccup said. He turned to head to his hut, hoping to catch a few hours of ]\sleep before dawn. And then the journey would begin.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter. Thanks to the people who have reviewed this story thus far. I will see you lovely readers in a week or two.

The day was cloudless and the blue sky and water stretched for miles in all directions. The seemingly endless horizon was only interrupted by splotches of green and brown that were the islands. From up here, the world was peaceful. Until a black streak came zoomming through the sky and touched down on the surface of the sea, sending up a frosty mist.

“Hiccup!” Astrid exclaimed, shaking water droplets from her hair. “Watch where you’re diving, would you?” Hiccup replied in a wordless whoop of joy as he rocketed past her.

“Cannon ball!” the twins chorused. Knowing what was coming, Astrid gestured for Stormfly to veer out of the way, but she couldn’t warn Flutterby in time. A huge tidal wave crashed over the dragon, making it sink towards the ocean. Stormfly dove, catching the white dragon in her claws.

“Guys, what are you doing?” Hiccup burst out, wheeling in the sky to face the soaking wet twins on a smirking Barf and Belch.

“Oh wonderous leader of ours, we were just following your lead,” Ruffnut said sweetly.

“Toothless and I are practicing a maneuver that we’ve been having issues with. It's a battle tactic," Hiccup defended.

"Yeah, us too," the twins said in unison.

“Give it up, Hiccup,” Snotlout advised. Hiccup groaned and flew to the front of the group.

“V-formation,” he called. The riders followed his instructions, Astrid and her team falling perfectly in line. Hiccup smiled.

The riders were off to find the Isle of Fles. They had left Spitelout, Gustav, and Stoick to watch the Edge. Gobber had asked Gothi about the Isle of Fles. While she had heard many legends about it as a young girl, she didn’t have much to report. She warned the group to be careful and beware the riddles for they could be double-edged. Nothing that they didn’t already know. 

Astrid was flying serenely, listening to the crash of the waves and the splash and roars of the sea dragons that came up every once in a while. She breathed in the salty air and let it brush her shoulders and bare forearms. She hadn’t slept much these past few days. Of course she would never say this out loud, but she was worried about the trials she would have to face. She was a warrior; a strong veteran of many battles, dragon and human alike. She had the strength and the intelligence to fight and unbalance even the craziest of opponents. But she was blind now. She fought so hard to be the same warrior she was when she could see; she spent months forcing her friends to see her as the same warrior, and in some cases beating them up to help the message sink in. But honestly, she wasn’t the same. Her reaction time was slowed way down; her aim lost accuracy, and she was the weakest link on the team. How could she prove herself worthy with a warrior’s spirit if she was going on this journey to get her sight back; the vary thing that made her a good warrior.

“You ok?” Hiccup asked, pulling along side her. Astrid looked towards him, shaking off her dark thoughts.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” she asked.

“You just looked deep in thought,” he said casually. “Wanna talk about it or-“

“Guys, incoming!” Fishlegs yelled. A split second later, the zipping sounds of thrown nets and boluses broke the calm of the day.

“Dragon hunters,” Hiccup gasped. Simultaneously him and Astrid flew high out of arrow range. The other riders did the same, avoiding nets and ropes on all sides.

“How many? What’s there position?” Astrid said, getting down to the nitty gritty details she really needed.

“Three large ships. Sailing in triangle formation with two ships flanking the one point ship,” Hiccup answered.

“Any big artillery?”

“A few catapolts. Nothing Toothless and I can’t handle. He then turned to the rest of the group. “Twins! Dive bomb. Fishlegs and Snotlout, cover them.” They nodded.

“I’ll cover you,” Astrid said. She could feel Hiccup getting ready to protest. “No time. You can be a noble idiot later. Let’s move.”

With that the group was in motion. Toothless made a striking pass, knocking the catapolts overboard while Astrid and her dragons distracted the crew.

“Nice show boys, too bad you can’t stick around to see its conclusion,” she said as Stormfly flung a pair of hunters overboard as they tried to knotch their arrows. Flutterby screeched sharply two times, throwing the sound to Astrid’s left,

“Stormfly, spine shot to the left!” she said, ducking as a long sword lifted and was met with dragon spines rather than Astrid’s head. The owner of the sword cursed and stumbled, trying to regain his balance as Stormfly swooped up out of range.

“Fire in the whole!” Tuffnut cried. The flank ship to the left of the point ship whent up in flames, the smell of zippleback gas wafting through the air. The ship’s crew that had escaped the blast quickly swam to the other ships, but they wouldn’t have much luck.

“Astrid, watch out,” Hiccup cried. A net hit Astrid as they swooped back down for another shot at the point ship. She was knocked off of Stormfly who squawked in alarm and tried to catch her. Another net flew and Stormfly had to dodge. Hiccup who had watched the scene in horror urged Toothless to dive bomb the ship Snotlout appeared behind Hiccup, laying down cover fire as he dove after Astrid. Just before she hit the deck, Toothless caught the net with his claws. Unfortunately, the net was tied down tightly to the ship’s mast and seemed to be made out of dragon-proof material. The man who had thrown it stared up in manic glee as Toothless pulled. Astrid, ax in hand, began hacking at the ropes that bound her, but nothing was working. She began to fling herself desperately against the ropes, trying to get free. She could hear a clicking sound, and her blood ran cold as she recognized it as an arrow being fitted into a very large crossbow.

“Just let me go,” Astrid called.

“Absolutely not,” Hiccup yelled angrily. Just then Stormfly swooped in, deflecting a poisonous arrow that was silently making its way to Toothless with her spines. Flutter by dove in and all three of the dragons hit the dragon-proof rope with their concentrated fire. Finally, a link in the rope weakened and Astrid hacked at it with her ax. She free-fell into the ocean, an arrow piercing her leg as she landed on the water’s surface and sank.

“Dive, Toothless!” Hiccup cried, steering his dragon towards where Astrid had sunk beneath the waves. He caught her hand as the watter churned around them, the evidence of another Barf-Belch attack.

All three of them bobbed to the surface, Stormfly hovering so that a spluttering Astrid could climb on. Flutterby was circling nearby, giving an excited screech as Astrid emerged.

“You ok? Hiccup asked, wiping the seawater out of his eyes. Astrid nodded, shaking the water from her hair. “What’s the status?”

“Looks like we took them out. There were no dragons or cages on board, and the ships were way too small to have a space below deck. The remaining ship is sailing away. There’s no point chasing after it.” Astrid nodded and then winced in pain. “What’s wrong?” It was then that he noticed an arrow sticking out of her leg. By then the rest of the riders were gathering in the air around them.

“Oh Thor, you got hurt, Astrid?” Fishlegs called in worry.

“What are you talking about? I’m fine. Must have just banged my leg during my fall,” Astrid said reaching down to rub the sore spot. She stopped when she felt the shaft of an arrow protruding. “Oh, well, I was half right,” she muttered. Then, she scrunched her face up and yanked the arrow out of her leg, biting back a cry of pain with effort.

“Wow,” Ruffnut whistled. “Astrid, I knew you were hardcore, but that was impressive.”

“She’s like a statue, just so stoic. It’s beautiful to behold,” Tuffnut sniffed. Hiccup rolled his eyes, reaching back to grab bandages that were in Toothless’s saddle bag. He tossed the bundle to Fishlegs, who fumbled it a bit before catching it.

“You patch up Astrid’s leg. The rest of us are going to do a quick recon to see if we have anymore surprises in our near future.” With that He, along with Snotlout and the Twins were off.

“I can patch myself up just fine, Fishlegs,” Astrid said as Meatlug approached Stormfly.

“I know, I know,” he said. “But Hiccup wanted me to do it, and you know how he can get.” Astrid smiled. She did know how he could get, especially when it came to her. He was quite protective of her, and she didn’t doubt for a second that if she had sight he wouldn’t be any less worried about her. Shrugging, she extended her leg out to Fishlegs, who dumped some cleaning concoction onto it. He then began to rap it tightly.

“So, how are you holding up?” he asked as he tied the two ends of the bandage together. That caught Astrid by surprise. She normally didn’t spend time talking to Fishlegs. He was her friend, of course. But they never really talked about anything that mattered.

“Fine,” she replied of handedly. She twisted her newly-wrapped leg. “Thanks, by the way.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and the tone in his voice made Astrid suspect he was blushing. “Hiccup told us all that you were mad at him that morning we found out about the Isle of Fles.”

“Yeah, I was. I still think I am,” she huffed.

“He just cares about you, you know?” Fishlegs said. “He wants you to be happy and safe. That’s always been important to him.”

“I know,” Astrid said, softening. “I want the same for him too. I understand the heart behind what he did. I even understand the logic and I had come to the same conclusion that very night, but when I heard him talking to Barnab without my permission, I just felt so angry and betrayed. But now I just feel-“

“afraid,” Fishlegs finished. Astrid turned her head to face him, her eyes hard.

“I’m not afraid,” Astrid said with a voice as unforgiving as stone.

“Maybe that wasn’t the right word.” Fishlegs back-petaled. “But you are avoiding something.” Astrid turned away sharply, signaling to Stormfly to swoop high above Meatlug’s flight range. She didn’t need to hear this. She wasn’t a coward; she couldn’t afford to be.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next chapter of AWE. I hope you enjoy. I will see you all in two weeks :)

The riders made camp on a baron, rocky island when the sun had all but disappeared. They were still over a day and a half from the Isle of Fles and both dragon and human alike were exhausted. They quickly gobbled down some food and took cover under some sparse vegetation. As the rest of the riders drifted off to sleep, Astrid lay awake with her thoughts for company. The conversation she had had with Fishlegs was playing over and over in her mind. She didn’t want to admit it, not even to herself, but there was a part of her that was terrified. She never used to feel like this. Sure, she feared for her friends and family when they were in trouble, and she especially feared for Hiccup because that boy, as cute as he was, was like metal to Thor’s lightning when it came to trouble, but she could usually do something about that fear. She could often protect the ones she cared about, come to the rescue when she couldn’t, and threaten to kill them when they purposely put themselves in danger. But this was different. For the first time, she feared that she had lost something, and nothing she could do or say would make that feeling go away.

“Hey, you awake?” Hiccup’s voice came. Astrid had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t even hear him approaching her little bush that she was curled underneath. She was using Stormfly as a pillow while Flutterby was nestled in the crook of her arm. Carefully as to not wake either of the dragons, she sat up.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I thought you might like to accompany me on a midnight flight,” he said, and Astrid could hear his trademark grin shining through his voice. She stood and brushed some gravel off of her.

“I think a midnight flight sounds perfect,” she said.

Moments later they were high above the clouds on Toothless. They flew over the ocean, doing dive after dive. Astrid yelled in ecstasy as they did a cork screw a few inches from the waves, a salty spray cooling her heated skin. Then they slowed the flying down. Astrid had her arms around Hiccup’s waist, her chin resting on his shoulder. They were making lazy circles around the island.

“I miss this,” Astrid said, breaking the contemplative silence.

“I miss this, too. How long has it been since we’ve gone on a flight together like this?"

“At least a month. But you know how Snotlout and the twins are, we can’t leave them alone for five minutes in normal circumstances.” They laughed before settling back into a comfortable silence as Toothless lazily looped higher over their camp.

“Hiccup?” Astrid asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, Astrid?”

She wasn’t sure what she should ask him. There were so many uncertainties fluttering through her mind, and she was positive that no matter how comforting Hiccup could be, he wouldn’t have the answers to any of them. She hated that she herself didn’t have the answers. Realizing that Hiccup was still waiting for a question she scrambled to think of one.

“Have you looked at the riddles yet?”

“You mean from Barnab’s book?” he asked. He seemed to sense that wasn’t what she wanted to ask originally, but he wasn't going to bring that up for the time being.

“Yes, what other riddles would there be," she said teasingly, pulling on the collar of his tunic. 

“I may have taken a peek at them.”

“And.”

“I don’t think we can really know what the riddles are referring to until we get to the island.” 

"Yes, you've said that before. But I want to know what it is. Hiccup sighed at Astrid's stubbornness and directed toothless to land on the small sandy strip near the shallows.

“There’s a lot of stuff I don’t understand. It’s a lot of talk about bleeding, flames and dying.”

“Sounds pretty pleasant to me.” Astrid snorted.

“IT’s so abstract, though. Every time I think I’ve broken the code, I feel like I’m even more wrong than I was the last try.”

“Why haven’t you told the others about this? Why didn’t you want to tell me? I thought we were all going to look at the riddles together. Teamwork and all that, right?”

“I didn’t want to worry anyone before I had to,” Hiccup admitted. Astrid Dismounted from toothless and began walking down the beach. Since she had forgotten to grab her holster and cane, she had to pick slowly across the rocky sand. Hiccup followed her at a sedate pace. Finally, when she felt the water lap at her boots, she kicked them off and dipped her toes in the cool, wet sand.

“What is with everyone thinking I’m some delicate flower these days? Hiccup, I knew the risks of this trip. If you remember, I was the one who pointed them out to you. We tell each other everything. If this trip is going to work, I can’t have you being overprotective.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Astrid. We’re all a team, and we have to work as one.”

“So, what’s the first riddle?” At Hiccup’s small intake of breath Astrid smirked. “Don’t think I don’t know that you’ve been carrying that book around since you got it. I know you, Hiccup.”

“That you do, Milady.” He pulled the small book from the waterproof pocket inside his vest and flipped a few pages. “Ok, here’s riddle one.

 _Now that you’ve made it to the isle of fles_  
Here comes phase one of your true test.  
You’ll give of yourself some blood and some bone  
To clear the path to truths yet unknown.  
Above you, death rains down in some colorful glue  
And below unlikely allies could murder you two."

Astrid felt a shiver run down her spine despite herself. She hoped Hiccup hadn’t seen it.

“What were your original ideas?”

You know me; my mind immediately went to dragons. But the blood and bone tripped me up. For the most part, dragons don’t go out of their way to eat humans, and only kill out of desperation or defense.” Astrid nodded in agreement. “Which makes me think that there is some magic at play."

“But if that’s the case, then it could literally be anything.”

“Exactly.”

They both stood in the shallows for several moments thinking through the words of the riddle. Hiccup was frustrated that he couldn’t make sense of them. Astrid kept turning them over and over in her mind, feeling a rising sense of dread fill her. What was she going into, and what was she sending her friends into.

“We’ll bring it up to the others,” she said when the dread had threatened to choke her. “Let’s head back and get some sleep. We’ll have plenty of time to think it over.” Astrid was almost positive that sleep would be impossible for her, but she couldn’t stand here in front of Hiccup and pretend that she wasn’t scared for much longer.


End file.
